Florida’s natural wonders have been in the news this year for all the wrong reasons: toxic tides, green slimes and rotting marine life. Losing paradise has long been a fear in Florida, so I recently traveled to three areas to see what’s left in a state endowed like no other with woods, wildlife...

Florida Travel Calendar

Check out festivals and events in November across the state. Central Florida (including Orlando, Kissimmee, Daytona Beach, Sanford, the Space Coast, Lakeland/Polk and Lake County) Through November 12: Epcot International Food and Wine Festival, Walt Disney World. The annual food and wine lover's...

Check out festivals and events in December across the state. This list is organized by region. Central Florida (including Orlando, Kissimmee, Daytona Beach, Sanford, the Space Coast, Lakeland/Polk and Lake County) Through December 30: Epcot International Festival of the Holidays, Disney World. This...

One of the best ways to combine nature and a beach day is at Loggerhead Marinelife Center, a sea turtle rehabilitation facility in Juno Beach. For more than 30 years, the center has been a working hospital that takes all species of sea turtles in need from rescue to release. At any time, there...

The stars of two major motion pictures haven’t let fame go to their heads. Winter and Hope bring in the crowds to Clearwater Marine Aquarium, having found popularity in “Dolphin Tale” and its sequel, but they’re just Atlantic bottlenose dolphins that happen to be the standard bearers for the aquarium’s...

If you’ve been at Disney World this week, you might have spotted some special kids and parents. They’ve certainly gotten noticed everywhere else lately. They are Gold Star families who’ve lost a family member in military service. About 1,750 of them have been at Disney thanks to The Gary Sinise...

The Travel Troubleshooter

I bought seven tickets on Aer Lingus to fly from Chicago to Dublin. I also purchased an extra seat for me, since I have hip and spinal issues. We had no problems on our outbound flight. While we were seated on the plane to return to Chicago from Dublin, a flight attendant told my son he had to...

My daughter and I traveled from Toronto to Paris in April 2017. Our return flight was with WOW Air. The night before our return to Canada, I received an email from the airline saying that the plane that was to return us to Canada had been in a mishap. It was a plane that carried 350 people. WOW...

Earlier this year, my wife and I booked a vacation rental through TripAdvisor. A few weeks later, we paid a $1,254 deposit on a unit in a condo development on Marco Island, Fla. The total price for three weeks came to $4,284. In August, more than six months before our stay, we received an email...

Last week, I booked one of Hotwire's blind-booking "hot rate" hotel deals in New York. Many of the hot rate deals I was looking at fully disclosed the hotel's resort fee without revealing the hotel's name. I chose one that did not make such a disclosure. I received a room at the InterContinental...

I booked a dream trip for my husband, parents and myself to Kauai, Hawaii, for September. It included a vacation rental, which I reserved through VRBO. I thoroughly researched the property. It had a no-refunds policy and required that I take out insurance and pay by check. I didn't worry because...

Florida Destinations

The scene is electric with construction noise at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, as hard-hat workers race to finish a $100 million facelift for an aging museum with poor acoustics. On a recent Friday, that hum of progress seems loudest at the towering new entrance plaza facing South...

One of the great pleasures of visiting Key West is admiring the hundreds of historic homes that have been lovingly preserved and restored. But few visitors get a peek inside those private homes. Four weekends a year, however, the owners of some of Key West’s most interesting houses open their doors...

The latest ranking of top restaurants in the U.S. is also the latest slap at Florida’s dining landscape. Only four restaurants, three in South Florida, made the cut in an annual list issued by OpenTable, a reservation and crowd-sourced review site. The South Florida honorees: Buccan in Palm Beach...

Florida hotels and resorts are offering up a slew of deals for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Here’s a roundup. Travelocity: 50 percent off select hotels through the mobile app on Black Friday. Save an additional 18 percent in the app all day Friday: Use promo code: FRIDAYAPP18. Cyber Monday savings...

Palm Beach County has seen more visitors in 2018 than ever before. The county’s tourism marketing department, Discover the Palm Beaches, announced that more than 6 million people have come to the county through September contributing $1.3 billion to the county’s economy, according to a press release....

Florida Beach Guide

It’s a long weekend, so chances are my husband and I will be heading to Playalinda Beach — again. For us, it’s a rediscovered pleasure. Playalinda — Spanish for beautiful beach — lives up to its name. The 4-mile stretch of beach in Brevard County is gorgeous, peaceful, undeveloped and the perfect...

When I was moving to Orlando a few months ago, I remember seeing the billboards advertising Ron Jon Surf Shop for hundreds of miles away. Approaching Cocoa Beach from almost any major roadway, you’ll see them, almost speaking to you as you drive. “You’re getting warmer,” they seem to say. 251 miles...

Shortly after the sun rises, the war waged against seaweed begins. City crews work for hours every morning with large machines to chop up the seaweed and bury it — or use dump trucks to haul it away. They clear thick mats of brown, squishy stuff that smells like rotten eggs, so beachgoers can enjoy...

National travel

It's rush hour at Grand Central Terminal. Tens of thousands of commuters are frantically rushing to their trains so they can get home and relax. In the southeast corner of the building, just off the main concourse, a tattooed couple sits at a high blond wooden table picking at a smorrebrod, or...

Cruises

When docking near the theme park capital of the world, it’s no wonder Carnival’s new ship Mardi Gras will bring some competition with the first roller coaster at sea. Carnival Cruise Line announced the Port Canaveral-bound ship slated to arrive in 2020 will sport a roller coaster called Bolt: Ultimate...